During certain surgical procedures it is necessary to establish a circuit for extracorporeal circulation of the blood of the patient. Such circuits may comprise devices such as blood reservoirs which may include a venous reservoir, that is meant to collect the blood that leaves the patient, and a cardiotomy reservoir for containing the blood drawn by recovery from the operating field, a pump for conveying blood in the circuit, a heat exchanger in which the blood encounters a heat exchange surface that maintains blood temperature at a desired value, an oxygenation device that is meant to transfer oxygen to the blood, and finally a filter known as an arterial filter, that is connected in the arterial line and is meant to retain any air bubbles that are present in the blood before the blood is returned to the patient.
All these devices can be present in the extracorporeal circuit as separate elements or they can be integrated in various combinations such as disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/920,999 filed Aug. 2, 2001, (U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,283) which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A need in this field exists, however, for a monolithic structure which integrates into a single package all of the various components necessary for use in an extracorporeal blood circuit used during heart bypass surgery or as an assist circuit during beating heart surgery.